The circle of trust and risk management issues explored in recent PYMNTS “What’s Next in Payments” articles often have far-reaching implications for future technologies. They may reflect a consumer logging into a banking app, sending a P2P payment, or completing a transaction with an online retailer, where the customer experience requires interaction and risk management between a multitude of actors, including merchants and banks.
But like Mary Kay Bowmanexecutive vice president, payments and financial services for BILLtold PYMNTS, the circle of trust also extends to the business world and corporate clients.
Regardless of the type of transaction or context, the same five threats can cause serious and sometimes irreparable harm to the circle of trust. These threats include credit risk, payment risk, counterparty risk, fraud and security risk, and compliance risk. THE risks grow, apparently exponentially.
“We hear about the advanced technologies and systems used by fraudsters – and it has become a technological arms race,” she told PYMNTS.
Meanwhile, small business owners are incredibly busy and wear many hats, handling everything from inventory to employees. Making everything perfect, from soup to nuts, Bowman said, is a daily challenge. The plethora of technology solutions available can be intimidating, and these business owners simply want a partner to help them solve problems and opportunities wherever and whenever they may arise.
You still use paper checks
What keeps Bowman up at night — even as he worries about this quintet of risk factors — is the fact that 75 percent of businesses still rely on paper checks to make payments, despite advances in technology.
“We are still working in a manual world when it comes to certain forms of payments,” she said. Relying on a payment method that has been around for centuries significantly increases the risk of fraud that businesses face, so much so that check fraud has become a multi-billion dollar problem.
For companies like BILL, where platform-based models help enterprise customers automate and streamline back-end processes while ensuring compliance and risk control, “solutions’ scalability and operational excellence that we offer to our customers are part of the elements that balance the fight. and protection against (risk). In this attempt to defend client companies, Bowman said, intelligence systems, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), collect data on these companies – end to end – that helps track trends over time to protect payments and circle. of trust.
Covering all functions
The platform approach, she added, also helps businesses adapt and keep pace with ever-changing regulations (BILL is regulated in all 50 states, Bowman said). “We see this as a key service that we offer to small businesses,” Bowman said. “They can trust that we not only know what to do with technology, but that we do it with the right players and cover all functions throughout the process, including regulation and compliance.
Regarding the mechanics of the platform, Bowman said: “We look at their entire financial operations from the time they get a contract to the time they issue a purchase order – and even if the money does not move at that time, we collect data to understand the context. …And when it comes time to transfer money, we can complete the transaction, if it is a “good” transaction, or prevent it if it is truly a “bad” transaction.
As she told PYMNTS, “Doing it right and doing it right every time is what we focus on, from start to finish.” »
